Kyle lied to Blossom that when he fixed Keran Illestia’s ‘bug’, he took care of mine as well. In other words, Blossom only thinks that I am tied to the thread like Keran.
For her, that meant everything was back in place. Keran took the role of Blossom’s counterpart, and I took the position of a background character with brown hair and blue eyes. So Blossom hasn’t been as hard on me these days.
One time, when no one was around, she suddenly acted like she knew me. I acted very much like a background character so as not to provoke her… After raising the corner of my mouth to the level of my thumbnail, I uttered only two syllables, no more and no less. Hello.
In order to avoid repeating the unfortunate incident, Kyle asked me to avoid encountering Blossom as much as possible. The reason was that, in the current situation, we had no weapons that could be used against Blossom.
Usually, I don’t prefer to avoid fights. But this time, I quietly followed his words. I thought it was a useful excuse. For me to distance myself from Blossom, and from Keran and Kyle, who were deeply involved with Blossom..
Kyle said he would try to ensure that his impulsive confession would not have any negative impact on me. It wasn’t a bluff. Even after that day, my relationship with Kyle remained fairly okay.
Of course, it wasn’t always okay. But it was enough not to be a problem. Kyle is a very perceptive person, and if he notices that my eyebrows are even slightly furrowed, he immediately puts on a lighthearted attitude.
The problem was with me. The rock that weighs me down.
In other words, guilt. I felt guilty about being drunk on the feeling of receiving without any intention of giving.
Moreover, I still could not accept Keran Illestia, whom I met in the courtyard. He was ‘fixed’ by Kyle’s hands, thanks to me.
Keran didn’t take the same classes as me, and he usually walked arm-in-arm with Blossom when he wasn’t in class. So, unlike Kyle, I didn’t have to use much effort to distance myself from Keran.
I was able to avoid getting tangled up with him simply by not passing through the crowded hallways. Both Keran and Blossom were very popular, so the places they were together were always crowded with people.
There were times when I made eye contact with Keran across the crowd. There are also cases where our eye contact becomes unnaturally tense. But when I looked away first, it would break without fail. As if nothing had happened.
It was relieving. At the same time, it was a bit disappointing. It was a complicated feeling.
While I was secretly spending time with the coveted student council president, I fell into the illusion that we had developed a certain level of intimacy. An idea that is nothing without the common goal of ‘deciphering patch notes’. Only now, with that goal erased from Keran’s consciousness, did everything become clear.
Anyway, that was it. In the weeks leading up to exams, I found myself unable to be around some of the smartest people I knew. The next smartest person was my roommate, Brianna, who was so upset with Anais’ issue these days that she couldn’t be bothered with exams or anything like that. It was so serious that even Walsh, who could not live without her, was kicked off her doorstep.
So I clung to Jaden Spencer. I don’t remember ever hearing a rumour that Jaden had good grades, but he was a Miluan. It was clear that he would be more knowledgeable in magic science than I, who had been flunking at it.
“Jaden, help me.”
In today’s swordsmanship class, Professor Moore seemed to have finally realized that his ‘brave Milua girl’ repertoire was getting boring, so he didn’t pair me up with the Holy Knight of Illestia like usual. He instead paired me with the hero of Milua.
Unlike maniacs like Bolton, Jaden didn’t resort to tactics like targeting only his opponent’s weak points. After swiftly dodging a downward strike, I assumed a posture suitable for a whispered comment. Jaden nodded his head gruffly at my words.
“Do you even know what it is for you to readily agree?”
My voice got a little louder because I was laughing. A smile slowly spread across Jaden’s stony face.
“Are you planning to overthrow the country?”
“Of course not!”
“Then I will help you.”
As he spoke, I aimed for his chest with my sword. Since I didn’t have the luxury to turn the blade, I struck the side of his chest with the back of the hilt. When Jaden moved back, for a moment, his muscles tensed, causing his uniform to cling tightly to his body.
A whistle came from somewhere. I could bet my entire fortune that it was Kendra Bradley, the most cheeky junior I knew.
“I wouldn’t say that’s a knightly attitude.”
“It’s because I learned the sword from a mercenary. If this were outdoors, I would have thrown sand in your eyes.”
Jaden blinked, as if hearing my words made him dizzy. Once again, I took advantage of that opening. Then Jaden struck my sword with his sword. This was a possible move because he usually used a large sword as tall as a child.
My grip loosened due to the unexpected impact. The wooden practice sword that left my hand, made exactly two and a half turns and struck Pedro Cantrell in the forehead. His forehead began to swell red.
Cantrell was one of Walsh’s lackeys, and he hated me very much. He was also a virulent classist, unable to resist insulting me and the Dalton household whenever he could.
No matter what excuse I made, it was clear that he would firmly believe that I had targeted him on purpose. The way his protruding snout twitched was as if it had already been loaded with words to denounce the atrocities of the daughter of a mere viscount who had hurt the noble count’s heir.
So what should I do to avoid getting treated unfairly in this situation?
“Cantrell, hey, with your forehead swollen like that, your mouth looks less protruding. Congratulations!”
The answer was to live up to Cantrell’s expectations by truly enjoying his misfortune. Then, Cantrell’s misunderstanding would not have been a misunderstanding, and I wouldn’t have to feel unjust.
“You, you crazy—.”
It was the moment when a harsh curse was about to come out of the noble count’s son’s throat. a wooden sword passed by my shoulder. It flew leisurely and struck Cantrell’s swollen forehead.
No matter how blunt the piece of wood was, getting hit again in the same place would have caused quite a bit of pain. Cantrell groaned, clutching his forehead. The heads of the twenty or so people gathered at the training ground slowly turned toward us.
“I think Ariel was right.”
As attention focused on him, Jaden answered sincerely. His expression was so serious that I was confused about whether he was joking or not. Cantrell stood up, kicking the floor with all his might, but then lowered his head helplessly when he realized that his opponent was the heir of the noble Spencer dukedom and the continent’s only Dragon Knight.
“But looking again, maybe not. Sorry.”
Jaden shrugged his shoulders at Cantrell, who had lost his will to fight. It was an action that conveyed no sense of apology.
***
For breaking Pedro Cantrell’s forehead, Jaden and I were in charge of cleaning up after the swordsmanship class. Professor Moore wanted us to feel some sort of… camaraderie… to see the value of comrade as we carefully cleaned Cantrell’s bloodied wooden sword.
I don’t know about Jaden, but at least I felt something different about Cantrell’s blood stain. ‘It’s not blue blood.’ Jaden’s lips curved slightly as I muttered indifferently.
“So about my request… are you, by any chance, excellent at magic science?”
He looked puzzled for a moment at my question, but then asked again.
“How good do I have to be to be considered excellent?”
“Hmm, at least better than me—”
“I am excellent at it.”
A very firm answer came in, cutting me off. I huffily threw away the handful of rice grains I had been scooping up with my fingertips, one by one. They were the internal organs of the unfortunate dummy, struck mercilessly by Cantrell’s blunt practice sword that littered the ground. They bounced mercilessly off Jaden’s thick forearms and got caught in the cracks in the broken stone on the floor.
“Do you have any idea how remarkable my proficiency in magic science is?”
“Don’t forget that Logan is my cousin.”
Only then did I remember that the full name of Professor Houston, who was in charge of magic science, was Logan Spencer Houston, and that he was the highest-ranking nobleman in Milua. In the central social circle of Milua, there were only a handful of families that were not related by blood to the Spencer family.
Instead of retorting, I chose to stab the crack in the floor with my fingernail. Rice grains popped out.
“What is the scope of the test?”
“From scalability formulas to mana signature encryption.”
“Which part of it are you unconfident about?”
“From scalability formulas to mana signature encryption.”
Jaden went blank, like someone under a slowing spell. Then he asked if I had misspoken, his voice seemed to tremble slightly. I shook my head vigorously.
Magic science has always been an unknown realm for me. I took Professor Houston’s class five times, but I still couldn’t explain the absorption-discharge structure.
In the first place, wouldn’t a magic circuit be great as long as it could operate as intended without draining mana? I attended the academy for a longer period than others and devoted myself to various research, but I could not find a reason why I had to design a magic circuit according to certain laws.
Also, I tend to sleep a lot, and the magic science class is always in the morning. Kyle was a genius at sleeping in all sorts of ways without getting caught. As I said that, Jaden suddenly stroked his chin. Any way you look at it, it was not a positive gesture.
“You definitely said you’d help me. Don’t go back on your words.”
“If you are desperate, I can do it for you.”
Marquis Bolton, who must have been eavesdropping on our conversation, approached us, raising his glasses. I didn’t want to confront him, so I pretended to make a mistake and smeared Cantrell’s blood on his white tunic. Bolton disappeared, screaming.
“When it comes to magic, Marquise definitely gets better grades than me.”
“You saw me learning to dance from him, didn’t you?”
Now Jaden has rescued the grains of rice stuck on the stone floor. I thought that was a sign that there was nothing more to say between me and him.
I giggled in triumph. Since Bolton had fled and the sword training ground was deserted, laughter rose through the high, curved ceiling and shook the quiet air.
“Oh, and while I’m at it, I was wondering if you could ask the dragons in the kennel something?”
“What?”
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